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Guest Post from Susan Schoenberger: Books for your Valentine

Susan Schoenberger is a fellow blogger of mine at the Patch, a chain of online newspapers. Recently she published this blog about Valentine’s gifts for book-lovers, and since I know that in addition to writing you all read (you do, don’t you?) I thought I’d re-post it here. Susan has worked as a reporter, editor and copy editor at The Day in New London, The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., The Baltimore Sun and The Hartford Courant. And she still has time to read…and write. Her first novel, A Watershed Year was published by Guideposts Books in March 2011.

A Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for Book Lovers

Does your significant other love to read? A thoughtfully chosen book can be far more intimate than flowers, candy or jewelry, and it can change the recipient’s perspective on life in ways that those more traditional gifts can’t.

With Valentine’s Day just a week away, it’s time to start thinking about how to impress the ones you love with a gift that shows just how well you know them.

The Non-Fiction Enthusiast: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand. “Unbroken” is the harrowing account of a bombardier who survives a plane crash during the war and tests the limits of endurance on the open ocean.

The Sports Fan: “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” by Michael Lewis. Get even more details about the inside workings of the underdog 2002 Oakland A’s than in the Oscar-nominated movie starring Brad Pitt.

The Historian: “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman,” by Robert K. Massie, described by its publisher as “the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at 14 and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.”

The Kid at Heart: “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins. The movie is due out soon, so give the gift of the gripping tale of a stark future world and the resilient Katniss Everdeen before it hits the big screen.

The Aspiring Writer:”On Writing”: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King. The master of the horror genre — one of the bestselling authors ever — offers his personal insights on the craft and the profession.

The Book Clubber: “The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes, a short but powerful novel that describes how an Englishman’s life is upended in old age by repercussions from a long-ago relationship.

The Poetry Lover: “The 100 Best Love Poems of All Time” edited by Leslie Pockell. Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, Yeats and Dickinson, among the many greats.

The Self Helper: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts,” by Gary D. Chapman, described by the publisher as a guide for “couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language — quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch.”